Posts made in May, 2017

When it comes to bringing a sense of authenticity to your writing, it’s the little things that matter. Most writers keep meticulous notes on their characters. However, we’re not always so good about noting those little things that make for an interesting setting description. Keeping track of where your characters are physically through the use of maps is one easy way to improve your story’s setting. Not only do maps help you add in little snippets of realistic detail, they also help keep you from making stupid mistakes. When I read a book, I will often Google a map of the places...

I am thrilled to announce that The Slow Trail Home is (finally) available in Kindle and paperback formats! This particular set of stories now has a name: The War and the West. An Uncivilized Yankee begins the sequence, followed by Bittersweet Days and A Great Wide Nowhere. After Nowhere comes Farewell and Goodbye. The Slow Trail Home picks up ten years after the events in Farewell. From the back cover: “You come back, ’kay? Promise?” “I promise.” Katja Black was just five when she waved farewell to the Steeles as they left Fort Ellis. That was a decade ago. Kat has since matured into a...

The Slow Trail Home picks up ten years after Farewell. Katja Black, Rob and Dani’s daughter, faces a nightmare situation when a madman bent on revenge abducts her. She manages to escape and finds refuge in the strangest place imaginable—a cattle drive heading up the Pecos Trail.

Roots and Branches

An in-progress collection of short stories focusing on the next generation of the Black family.